University of Birmingham to help Indian government improve its rural roads

New Delhi, February 23

Civil engineering experts from the University of Birmingham will work with the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) to create a hi-tech monitoring system that will allow the government to respond to damage and deterioration on the country's rural roads.

As per an MoU signed earlier this week, the engineers from UK will provide the Ministry with mechanisms that allow automated analysis of rural road condition.

“We are a global ‘civic' university, and proud that our civil engineering experts are working with partners in India to contribute to improving the well-being of its citizens,” Birmingham University Vice Chancellor Sir David Eastwood told PTI.

"The agreement will see the University of Birmingham and MoRD working together on promoting research, building traffic capacity and redefining standards of practice in the construction and maintenance of rural roads,” he added.

A team of university experts led by Michael Burrow and Gurmel Ghataora will work with one of MoRD's Rural Connectivity and Training Centres to set up a Global Centre of Excellence in Rural Roads.

The initiative will bring together leading research groups and practitioners, initially from India and the UK, with the aim of developing a global reach.

MoRD Additional Secretary Alka Upadhyaya said: “Improving rural roads is helping to increase trade between villages and towns, as well as improving people's access to job opportunities and boosting school enrolment and attendance. Farmers can demand a better price for their produce - increasing their incomes”    

“We look forward to working with the University of Birmingham to create a partnership that will further improve India's road network connecting towns and villages – benefiting a host of communities across the country," she added.

MORD will also identify training needs amongst those working on rural roads in India, so that experts from the University can provide professional-development programmes to address these needs.

Manu Sasidharan, Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, said, “The project will help us gain a valuable insight into transport issues in India. People living in rural communities will benefit from Birmingham experts working with their Indian partners, as they evaluate technologies and standards for the construction and maintenance of rural roads”. — PTI